Day to day life

[Mark K]

Hi,
Ive been wondering this for a while, and now that i registered here i can finally clear it up.

I was wondering how practicing OBE's and astral projection affects your day to day life? as in, work, relationships etc, just everday stuff like that...

Ive read bits and pieces about this sort of stuff being related to schizophrenia.
For a while (mid last year to early this year) i had some bad habbits which included alot of weed, alot of esctacy and well... my fair share of crystal meth.
I have stopped all that and found meditation techniques really helped me get over the headf*cks i created for myself from doing all this.

I have a pretty hectic job, i work for a fairly big (think hundreds of millions) property development company as an architectural draftsperson, so its important that i have a clear, focused head each n everyday.

Long story short, will practicing astral projection, OBE's, deep trancy meditation etc affect me? (considering my history)
How does it affect you in your day to day life? (generally speaking)

Sorry for the life story, but its kind of important to me hehe

Thanks heaps,
Mark

[mactombs]

Probably not. It's much less intrusive than any drug ... and if you are noticing effects in day-to-day life, they're usually positive and beneficial. I don't think your prior drug usage will have any impact on OBEs, either.

The only effect I can think of is the time you put aside for practice. But everyone should have personal time set aside anyway, if you ask me.

Good luck and good journeys.

[Mark K]

Thanks for the reply,

I get the feeling that my prior lifestyle may have disrupted my natural thought processes.
I think i have a tendancy to think way too much... usually resulting in me being overly self concious etc... the usual sort of stuff i guess. I think it also affects my concentration and attention span...

But if it has positive benefits, excellent. Ill keep at it.


Take care,
Mark

[Reemya]

Mark K,

First let me congratulate you on kicking the habit of drugs—not an easy thing to do. It sounds like you're already finding a great alternative with meditation.

OBEs and lucid dreams have been nothing but positive for me. They've been exciting, joyful, curious, and mind expanding. I'm not the sort of person who feels that OBEs have answered at lot of life's questions, rather it's as though it creates more questions for me. But the curiosity and search for answers is a rewarding quest in and of itself.

I can't say that it's had a big impact in my day-to-day mundane life. Although there are times I wish that others that I am close to could/would share the experience.

My own excessive drug use in my early twenties seemed to have no impact on my ability to have OBEs later, nor did it affect how I reacted to them.

Hope that helps  

Namaste,
Reemya

[jalef]

it will affect your life as much as you allow it to. if you do it only on your own and dont tell anybody then it will have only the psitive effects Reemya mentioned. of course you can try and share your experiences. then they will have a much greater impact on your live and propably in a negative way (people might think youre crazy or in your case: you started taking drugs again).

[Mark K]

I was thinking that today actually... How hard it would be for someone who hasnt experienced this sort of thing to understand.. and how crazy they think we are hehe

While im here, i have a question.
I downloaded boxed nirvana in the hope that it may help me with my concentration problems, but im still a bit unsure of how to actually go about projecting and exiting.


Should i be concentrating on the sound waves from my earphones? or should they be in the background while i concentrate on something else? If so, what should i be concentrating on?
My main probelm with projecting and exiting is exactly that.... i dont know how to go about it or what i should focus on. (my first OBE was a total fluke, i wasnt trying at all)

Thanks for your help,
Mark

[mactombs]

Stop thinking about what you should be doing and just do it. That sounds a bit guru-bunkish, but I think it's helpful to keep in mind that you shouldn't be focusing on the process and what you're doing wrong. Just relax, let it happen.

There is a lot of info on how to project. My personal favorite right now is listening to entrainment, doing progressive relaxation, then laying absolutely still no matter how much my body starts to scream that it wants to move. It helps also to have a meditative mind, keeping mindful of your thoughts - or maybe a mantra, repeat it, if you find your mind wandering, gently bring it back.

I hope this helps.

[greytraveler]

Hallo
The Out of body experience/astral projection is a door which, once opened, never completely closes. Some people can go through that door at will. Many or most people will never go through the door during their lifetimes.
Yet the door Does exist and Believing that the door exists is the first benefit. Then actually having an OBE leads to the second benefit - that of KNOWING the experience exists and not just reading about it from somebody else's post.
This will likely cause a huge shift in consciousness. Yet this is just the beginning of numerous possibilities (a few of which have already been explored and most of which have yet to be realized).

[Token]

Mark one benefit of OBE is that a clear head and healthy body make for better (clearer, longer) OBEs and this can be an incentive for you to keep on the path your are going.  Your prior drug use won't have a significant impact on your ability to have OBEs, but having a clear head will.

[kiwibonga]

All the OBE practice I've done has dramatically increased my dream recall, and I often say that ever since dreams "came back into my life" I'm much happier, much more motivated, etc...

Also, fighting the fear of the unknown has been very beneficial -- I used to be someone who would get scared of just about anything... I would sometimes be paralyzed with fear just because I heard a weird sound or thought I saw something...

Recently I've seen someone (a spirit?) standing at the foot of my bed, I've been woken up in the middle of the night and saw this entity made of blue electric sparks, and I keep seeing shadows or flashes of light passing by, or hearing faint voices, and those things just plainly don't scare me anymore!

I also refuse to touch any kind of drugs or alcohol...

Yup, I'd say overall it has changed my everyday life for the better, and from what I could gather, a lot more things are coming my (our) way!

[The Present Moment]

Should i be concentrating on the sound waves from my earphones? or should they be in the background while i concentrate on something else? If so, what should i be concentrating on?

I put more emphasis on observation than concentration. It's like a mental staring: look to the state of mind that brings trance and relaxation, while ignoring the one that brings thoughts and commentary.

[AndrewTheSinger]

What it changed is that I feel much more real and on the command now, before I was just a stupid air ballon.

[komplexvn]

Does anyone think it would be possible to OBE/LD/AP while on drugs? No I am not thinking about trying it (I want to have a normal one!), but I am wondering also if you can, would it affect it in any way?

[kiwibonga]

The effects of each drug are pretty different... The symptoms they have on your alertness and consciousness carry over to the astral... Your mind will be muddy, and in the case of drugs that strengthen paranoia, you will definitely see mind-created demons... (unless you have gotten rid of your personal demons already)

[komplexvn]

I was really only talking about weed.

[Doch]

Has certainly put a bit of strain on some relationships, but I wouldn't stop for anything. AP seemed to come about just at the right moment for me. I don't know where I would be without it now.

[jub jub]

I've told a couple of co-workers about my OBE experiences and I believe they think I'm a bit weird, maybe even crazy! Other than that, I haven't noticed any positive or negative side affects from it.